Hundreds of British soldiers face being stuck in Afghanistan for weeks longer than they had expected as a result of the G4S scandal, which has seen 3,500 troops drafted in to provide security during the Olympic Games.

When a judge ruled that residents of Fred Wigg Tower in east London would have to put up and shut up over the siting of a missile battery on their roof, justifications included the resonant, almost archaic, "defence of the realm". You can argue until kingdom come whether the Olympics should present a security threat of that order – ministers keep reiterating that they are about sport not security – but after the Black September attack in Munich 40 years ago, and the temptation for the aggrieved to seek spectaculars to rival 9/11, it does not seem unreasonable for any government to treat the Games as a potential target. It would rather be remiss if it did not.

Michael Gove is being increasingly talked up as the next Conservative leader while George Osborne's odds lengthen with every Budget U-turn. It is interesting that someone with whom he has worked closely is off to get first-hand experience of fighting high-pressure elections. James Frayne, director of communications in Mr Gove's department, is off to the US to work for the Republican presidential campaign.

The expected new regulator of policing put the Home Secretary on notice today that he would take on the Government as he promised to shine a light into the “darkest corners” of law and order in Britain.